


The Long Road Home

by Illeana Starbright (SunlightOnTheWater)



Category: Fast and the Furious Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Minor Character Death, Platonic Soulmates, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-15 04:31:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7207883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunlightOnTheWater/pseuds/Illeana%20Starbright
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dominic Toretto already had trouble on his hands with his childhood best friend trying to score a date with his little sister, being a suspect in a series of truck jackings that he wasn't pulling off (anymore), and running a legitimate business when he wasn't hunting down nightmare monsters with his crew. What he didn't need on top of that was a teenage shapeshifter stumbling headlong into his life and forming with Dom what he had previously believed was a mythical soulbond. Things only went downhill from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_In the beginning, there was darkness. From that darkness was born creatures of unspeakable evil, prone to fits of murderous rage and immense cruelty. When the Creator lifted His Hand and spread light across the world, it revealed the Twisted Things that His Great Enemy had created to plague His finest creation; humanity. Knowing that he could not directly destroy the Twisted Things that brought chaos to His newly unveiled creation, for it was not yet time for Him to walk across the world, the Creator instead formed beings that could defeat the Twisted Things and thwart the plans of the Enemy._

_The first of these beings were gifted with speed, strength, and endurance far beyond those of an ordinary Human, though they appeared to be of the Human Race. Their blood contained great power, from which they could craft sigils to carry out their will or use to imbue their weapons with further powers. They were called the Hunters, and the Creator gave them one last gift before he placed them into the world. He endowed them with the Sixth Sense, the ability to know when Twisted Things were near so that they could destroy the creatures and protect humanity._

_The Creator understood that the Hunters would not be able to rid the world of the plague of Twisted Things on their own. Though they were more powerful than humans, they were still far weaker than the abominations that the Enemy had nurtured in the shadows while the Creator crafted the finest aspect of His universe. Alone, the Hunters would fall before the Twisted Things and humanity would be destroyed utterly, so the Creator made a race of companions and fellow warriors to fight aside the Hunters. Since His first race of warriors had been endowed with the enhanced abilities of the humans and their blood given power, the Creator turned towards the animal kingdom for his second warrior race. From their the Shifters were born. They too, were given a Human form, but it was a false face to allow them to move among humanity without alarming them. Their true faces were those of wild predators who would help the hunters take down the Twisted Things. Though they lost none of the animal cunning that was inherent to each of the races of predators of the forms they were born with, they were made to be far more intelligent than their natural kin. They possessed not only the instincts of a wild animal, but also all the intelligence inherent to humanity._

_The first of the Shifters and Hunters formed close soulbonds that allowed them to become more effective brothers and sisters in arms, pushing back the plague of Twisted Things that had been unleashed upon the Creator's work. For a time, all was well. As peace spread, the Twisted Things became little more than myth and, eventually, even the Hunters and Shifters began to dismiss the tales of their elders as nothing more than boogeyman stories meant to frighten small children into behaving. With nothing left to seek and destroy, the alliance between Hunters and Shifters faded away to nothing more than a friendly tolerance and complacency entered the world._

_It was during this time that a Twisted Thing bit a Shifter, infected the noble being with a poison that warped the mind. The Shifter went mad and attacked a Hunter child. The child's parents attempted to track down the infected Shifter, but the elders of the family from which the inflicted individual had come turned their attention towards hunting down the Twisted Thing. While they attempted to find the true monster, the infected Shifter slaughtered dozens more individuals, Human and Hunter alike. In retaliation for these horrible acts, the local Hunter family gathered allies and, on a moonless night, slaughtered the infected Shifter and the Shifter's entire family. The truth died with them._

_Now Twisted Things have crept back into the world, infecting the remaining Shifters who hide in fear for their lives. This horrible infection is why Hunters and Shifters no longer stand against the growing darkness, and why former allies seek to destroy one another. The Creator watches and weeps as He witnesses the atrocities committed as the Enemy rejoices, seeing victory close at hand._

* * *

**Prologue**

Brian Ethan O'Conner snuggled deeper under the covers in his bedroom and smiled sleepily as his mother leaned over to press a gentle kiss against his forehead. "Sleep well," she said, voice warm and rich like dark chocolate melting on the tongue. "Don't let the bedbugs bite."

Newly thirteen and unsure if this nightly routine could be considered too childish to continue yet, Brian hesitated for a moment before saying, "I won't." He paused, yawning widely as the exhaustion of the day caught up to him. He'd spent the afternoon running around their suburb of Barstow with his best friend and fellow Shifter pup, Roman Pearce, celebrating that Brian could finally be considered a teenager. "Night Momma."

"Good Night," Lily O'Conner replied, smiling gently at her son. "I love you."

"Love you too, Momma." Lily stepped out of the room and sidestepped her husband, blonde curls swishing over her shoulders as she did so. Adam O'Conner was a striking man with tanned skin from spending hours working on construction sites in the hot California sun and dark brown curls. His blue eyes, the same brilliant, icy shade as his son's, gleamed with warmth, and he leaned over to press a quick kiss to his wife's lips before stepping inside the bedroom to say good night to their only child.

"Happy Birthday," the man told Brian for the second time that day and was rewarded by a sleepy grin from his son. Brian untangled himself from his covers long enough for a hug before sinking back into them. "Sleep well. I love you."

"Love you too, Dad," Brian replied, eyes already drifting closed. His father turned the lights off before continuing down the hall, heading for the kitchen. Tired and content, Brian kept his eyes closed as he listened to the familiar sounds of his family moving about in his childhood home. He could hear the low, comforting rumble of his father's voice murmuring to his mother and the warm, rich sound of her laughter before she responded to whatever he'd said. The distant humming and churning of the dishwasher further lulled him towards sleep, body relaxing against the mattress underneath him. Brian had spent his entire life in this house in Barstow. He knew its every sound, from the creaking of the old wood in the hallway that went by his bedroom and the bathroom before leading to his parents' master bedroom to the odd squeaking noise the door to the pantry made when it opened during the summer, swollen wood protesting the movement. The sounds were a comfort to him, further convincing the young Shifter that he was safe.

The boy was almost asleep when he heard the sound of someone rapping on the door. For a moment his heartbeat jumped, but his parents' voices didn't sound alarmed so he relaxed again as the heavy tread of his father's heavy footsteps headed for the door. Brian breathed out a soft, content sigh, and was heading towards sleep again when the sound of shattering wood had him jolting upright. He heard his father let out a pained yowl and his mother screamed in terror as the pungent, coppery smell of blood filled the air. Brian scrambled from the bed, eyes wide and wild from terror, as his father let out one more pained cry before there was an awful crunching sound and he fell silent. The blonde boy scrambled to the kitchen, hearing his mother snarl in her animal voice. Whatever was in the house with her let out a chuffing sound that was terribly similar to laughter and Brian heard a noise that sounded like steel scraping on the rough stone of the entryway to their home.

He stumbled into the kitchen, feet sliding a bit on the linoleum, and then froze when his mother let out a high pitched, terrible keening sound. The noise cut off abruptly and the scent of blood grew stronger, almost overwhelming. Brian let out a whimper and stumbled towards the hallway that divided the kitchen and the living room, freezing when the massive shadow illuminated in the hall turned and shambled towards him. The creature in the doorway was massive, easily taller than the impressive six foot height Brian's father had achieved. It was entirely black and hunched over, arms reaching it's knees and wickedly sharp talons dragging across the floor with each heavy step it took. Its body was stick thin and weedy, its arms looking like they should have had no strength to them and its legs looking like they would collapse at any time. Its feet, Brian realized with a sense of confusion, were human with long, thin, bony toes. Its shoulders were the broadest thing about it, easily filling the four foot wide doorway, its head was attached directly to them, not neck in sight. The creature's head was almost entirely dominated by a wide, shark like mouth with hundreds upon hundreds of sharp teeth in jagged rows, no lips seeming to exist for them to hide behind. Many of them were stained red, just like the dragging claws, making it very clear to the boy how it had killed his parents.

Brian forced his gaze to rise higher, noticing to fluttering slits perched an inch about the monstrous mouth, likely taking in the terrified boy's scent. What was above them had the boy freezing in horror. The creature had no eyes. Instead it had two gaping, empty sockets that revealed nothing but further blackness. The creature could not see, though that didn't seem to hinder its ability to hunt. Its entire attention was focused on Brian, its body completely still as if even breathing were unnecessary for it to live. Realizing that he was likely the creature's next victim, Brian stumbled a couple steps back, arms flung out behind him to feel for the doorway. The creature tilted its head and let out a low, almost crooning sound, stretching its head and shoulders further through the doorway and sniffing deeply. Brian startled, tripping over his own feet and crashing to the ground with a pained, terrified cry. The creature warbled in response, taking a couple shuffling steps forward. It's whole body swayed awkwardly as if move and Brian scrambled back with his feet and hands on the linoleum, desperate to get away. At this distance the creature smelled like fetid meat and rotten oranges, making the boy gag as he stumbled to his feet.

The creature crooned again, lifting its clawed hand and making a beckoning motion that scraped its claws across the ceiling. Plaster and dust rained down on the creature, making it left out a coughing, wheezing sound. Brian took advantage of what he hoped was the creature's momentary distraction, turning and running. He slammed into the side of the doorway as he sprinted out of the kitchen and floorboards squealed under his feet as he made a break for his bedroom. Behind him, the creature let out a low, moaning howl. Brian thought his heart was going to hammer its way out of his chest as he he slammed his bedroom door, pushing his back against it and sinking to the floor with a sob. _Those things weren't supposed to be real!_ Twisted Things were fairy tales his mother had told him before bed when he was small. They weren't supposed to exist in real life.

The howl cut off abruptly, and Brian shook as he heard the shuffling step of the Twisted Thing making its way out of the kitchen and into the hallway. Despite its fragile looking stature, the floorboards in the hall screamed in protest. For the first time in his life, Brian wished that his door had a lock on it, or anything really, to serve as an extra barrier against the monster trying to kill him. Suddenly the creature in the hallway stopped moving. In the sudden silence, Brian's ragged gasps sounded painfully loud. He slumped further down against the door, shrinking into a tiny ball, and that was what saved his life. Claws punched through the wood above his head and Brian let out a terrified shriek, scrambling away from the door on his hands and knees. Carpeting made his knees sting as he pushed himself to his feet and ran for the window, unlatching it and forcing it open. He was about to push the screen out so he could escape when a horrible thought struck him. It was summer, but Brian had been allowed to go to bed late in honor of his birthday. That meant that the sky outside was black as the creature's skin. A second Twisted Thing could be hiding out in the darkness and he wouldn't know until it was too late to run.

A splintering sound caught Brian's attention and he turned in time to see claws slip out of the wood. The Twisted Thing pressed its mouth against the door, teeth snapping on nothing but air, and then pulled away, lifting a hand to obliterate the door. Brian whirled and shoved at the screen with all his might, sending it clattering to the flower bed below. He scrambled through just as the Twisted Thing destroyed the door with a screech of protesting wood and tortured metal hinges. Dew damp grass stained his bare knees and he stumbled to his feet before running desperately towards the street. Behind him the creature let out a moaning howl and, from several feet in front of him, another Twisted Thing howled in response. Brian skidded to a stop, knowing that his path to Rome's house was now blocked. The walls of his house shrieked and groaned as the Twisted Thing inside it struggled to get out, and somewhere in the darkness Brian could smell the reek of the second one stalking him. In a blind panic he turned and ran through the back yards of houses, knowing only that he that he could stop as long as the sky was dark.

~~~

One hundred and fifteen miles away, Sergeant Matthew Tanner was leaning over a case file in his dimly lit office. For the past six months, he and other LAPD officers had been attempting to find a break in a truck jacking case. A well coordinated crew had been stealing from moving semis at night on the highways just outside of LA, costing companies thousands upon thousands of dollars. The pressure was on to find the crew so that the companies would stop losing money, and the stakes had been raised to find something before the FBI arrived on Tuesday to help. Tanner rubbed his forehead as he squinted at the typed up interviews of truck drivers, looking for anything that might identify a culprit. He had been coming the reports for hours, but so far had come up empty handed.

The LAPD police chief wouldn't be happy to hear it, but Tanner was actually glad to have the FBI on the case. He needed a fresh set of eyes, and ideas, to look over this mess and come up with something that they could use to bring the criminals to justice. Approaching footsteps made him startled and he looked up to meet the eyes of Carmen Sanchez, the night operator. Her headset was still on and she was carrying two steaming cups of coffee. "I though you might need a little pick me up," she said with a worn smile.

"Thank you," Tanner replied emphatically, taking the cup she offered him.

"No problem," Carmen replied, leaning her hip against his desk and taking a careful sip of her own drink. "Having any luck?"

"Not yet," Tanner replied.

"Maybe you should take a break and get some rest," she suggested. "The words have to be dancing on the page by now."

"The chief wants results before the FBI shows up," Tanner said, sounding worn. "He won't be happy if I give up now."

"I wouldn't call getting some rest giving up."

"Neither would up, but he would." Carmen scowled for a moment, knowing as well as Tanner that he was right. Their current chief of police had lots of political ambitions, and being unable to solve this case without the help of the FBI might end those high aspirations.

Carmen's headset beeped and she reached up to press a button with her free hand. "LAPD, this is Carmen. How can I assist you tonight?" She paused a moment, listening to what the person on the other end of the line was saying, and her eyes widened in shock. "I'll patch you through to Sergeant Tanner then. One moment please." She pulled the synced remote from her belt and tapped a button that hung up the call on her end and made the phone on Tanner's desk ring. "He claims he has a tip for you about the truck jackings," Carmen whispered urgently as Tanner reached for the phone.

"Tanner," he said into the mouthpiece.

"Hello, Sergeant Tanner," a male voice said in slightly accented English. Tanner's exhausted brain couldn't identify the accent, and there were so many different ethnicities in Los Angeles that he couldn't hazard a guess as to which one this man belonged to. "I have information for you regarding the recent truck jackings. There's a street racer who runs a garage called DT's in the suburbs near LA named Dominic Toretto. Toretto made a series of purchases over the last year consistent with the vehicles reported to have been used to commit the crimes." The man fell silent as Tanner scribbled down a quick note in the corner of one of the reports.

"I will look into your information," Tanner informed the man on the other end of the line.

"That's all I can ask from our _fine_ boys in blue," the man replied, sneering a little bit on the word fine. Then he hung up before Tanner could respond, leaving the man sitting alone in his office with the silent phone pressed against his ear.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

Mia Toretto stepped out of the back door of 1327 and let it swing shut behind her, using her free hand to lift her dark brown hair off the back of her neck. It was barely past ten in the morning, but the temperature was rapidly rising and promised to reach the upper eighties, or maybe even lower nineties if the weather man knew what he was talking about, by mid afternoon. That was good. The high temperature meant that the wet laundry in the basket resting against her hip would likely be dry before she needed to go into the store to take over from Mrs. Alvarez, who opened the store on Wednesdays so Mia could have one day to sleep in. The dark haired young woman made her way down the back steps and across dying grass, the stiff blades crunching under her sandals, to the empty clothes line, resting the laundry basket on the ground near one of the poles. Then she removed the bag of clothespins from the top of the damp, clean laundry and started pinning shirts that would stretch and various pairs of shorts to the line.

She hummed a lullaby that her mother had used to sing to her and her brother before she passed on, the tune sweet and just a little bit sad. Sometimes she wished she had children of her own to sing it to, but the only man that ever approached her wanting a date was Vince, who had spent his entire existence in Dom's orbit, and besides she had enough to keep her occupied with running the store and keeping up with the homework for her college classes. Mia wanted to be a doctor some day, partially because then she could patch up her brother and company after a particularly bad hunt for a rogue Shifter and partially because she would stop having to make up excuses to not go on hunts with them.

Mia was, without a doubt, a capable Hunter. When she'd been younger and hadn't yet understood what an unjust death could do to a family, even an accidental unjust death, she'd trained hard and honed her skills until she was just as capable of putting down a threat as anyone else in her family. Then, after she and Dom's father had been killed by a Shifter seeking vengeance for the death of his teenage son, who'd done nothing wrong but had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, Mia had stopped hunting. She hadn't been able to stand the thought of killing someone that might have someone else at home waiting for them to come back. While she understood, logically, that rogue Shifters needed to be put down before they slaughtered innocent humans, she also understood that mistakes could be made and innocents killed, all in the name of protecting ordinary citizens. She refused to risk killing the wrong Shifter who had done nothing more than try to survive a world that was constantly attempting to exterminate them.

She was almost finished pinning up the laundry when several Black Capped Chickadees and a Barn Swallow burst out of the California lilacs growing wild on the other side of the fence surrounding the house and small yard. Mia wanted to dismiss the commotion as nothing more than a run of the mill disagreement between the birds, but her senses insisted that there was something _other_ lurking nearby and the constant, clumsy sounding rustling in the lilacs made her cross the yard to get a better look at the situation. She grabbed one of the plastic chairs scattered around outside as she approached, carrying it over so that she could see over the fence, which had been built tall enough that even Dom had to work a little to see over it. Settling the chair in place, Mia climbed on to it, peered into the lilacs, and froze.

If she had only spared the unruly bushes a passing glance, then she might not have noticed the pair of exhausted, terrified blue eyes staring back at her through the branches. Mia let out a shuddering breath and stared back at the young Shifter, not sure what to do. The boy's eyes didn't have the same feral gleam as a rogue Shifter, nor did they have the yellow sheen that characterized those who had gone mad. Instead they were pure blue and looking up at her as if she was one of the monsters he'd been running and hiding from. Mia pulled air back into her lungs and blew it out again before mustering what she hoped was a gentle smile. "It's okay," she told the boy. "I'm not going to hurt you." He didn't look like he believed her. Instead of responding her curled into a tighter ball, trying to tuck himself further under the lilacs. "It's okay," Mia said again, casting a furtive glance around to make sure no one was out and looking at her. "I won't tell anyone you're here." The boy relaxed, just a little at that, and as his eyes drifted slowly shut she heard his stomach grumble.

"Are you hungry?" The question was an impulsive one, out of her mouth before she had truly considered the implications of asking it. He stared at her with wide, shocked eyes for a moment before shaking his head, but his stomach grumbled again, giving him away. "If you come inside I can feed you," Mia offered, refusing to retract her earlier statement. "I don't have much, just some leftover tuna for sandwiches that the guys decided they weren't particularly fond of, but it's better than nothing." The boy was still staring at her so Mia forced herself to give one more smile before adding, "It's your choice," and jumping off the chair to head towards the house. A moment later her smile turned from forced to genuine when she heard some rustling and scuffling the signaled the boy making his way over the fence to trail after her. Apparently he was hungry enough to risk being killed, and Mia stopped that thought in its tracks because she didn't want to scare the boy off by being angry about whoever had forced him into this kind of situation.

In the kitchen, Mia busied herself with pulling the tuna out of the refrigerator, grabbing the bread from where it rested by the toaster from breakfast, and searching for a clean plate and knife. She didn't turn around when the boy followed her into the house and hovered nervously next to the nearest exit. Instead she focused on putting the sandwich together, even going so far as to remove the crust before spinning on her heel and taking the three steps necessary to cross the room in order to place the plate on the small side table pushed against a far wall. "Eat up," she told the boy with a small smile. "I'll get you some water to drink."

The boy nodded hesitantly in response and scurried across the room to the table, chair groaning a bit in protest as he pulled it away from the table to sit down. Mia smiled and brought down a clean glass, filling it with cold water. When she turned around the boy was gulping down the sandwich as if he hadn't seen proper food for weeks. "Slow down," Mia ordered, concerned. The boy flinched and dropped the sandwich, making Mia's stomach plummet uncomfortably as scared eyes fixed on her, searching for signs of aggression as the young Shifter readied himself to bolt. "If you eat that quickly you'll make yourself sick," she told him, softening her tone before cautiously taking a couple small steps and placing the glass of water on the edge of the table. The boy cautiously pulled the glass over to him, watching her with wary eyes until he had to look away to take a drink.

"I'm Mia, by the way," she said once he'd set the glass down and started to eat again. "Mia Toretto." She didn't know if the boy was at all curious to know the name of the Hunter who'd been crazy enough to ignore societal norms and help him, but she'd been too well raised not to introduce herself.

"Brian," the boy murmured back, not looking up to catch a glimpse of the shock on her face as he finished his sandwich.

"It's nice to meet you," Mia said, almost automatically. She hadn't expected Brian to offer his name in response, not when he was so wary of her, but she supposed that they were both treading in new territory and so retreating to polite formalities just to get by. The sound of a vehicle pulling into the drive startled Mia out of her contemplation. She whirled around to peer out one of the kitchen windows, catching a glimpse of Dom's RX-7 and cursing under her breath. She spun around again and saw that Brian was already out of his seat and glancing anxiously between her and the door. " _Go_ ," she hissed, motioning towards the door with a frantic gesture. " _Hurry!_ "

Brian bolted, scrambling out of the back door at the same time Dom opened the front one. Mia turned towards the hallway, taking a moment to compose herself before going to see what had sent Dom home from the garage early. She was already rounding the corner, a concerned look on her face, when she realized that Brian's plate and glass were still sitting on the table in the kitchen. Stomach twisting with anxiety, knowing that her brother noticed the instant she rearranged something in the house, Mia said a silent prayer that Dom wouldn't go into the kitchen and then stepped around the corner to find out exactly what was going on.

~~~

Los Angeles International Airport was packed full of people by the time American Airlines flight 219 from Miami, Florida arrived at exactly 10:45 AM, ten minutes earlier than expected. The people rushing down the jet bridge and into the crush of other travelers in a hurry had been trapped on an airplane for over five hours, and no matter how well someone liked flying, being stuck sitting around in a small space for that long wore on a person. Joining the throng of business executives and early summer break vacation goers was DEA agent Monica Fuentes. Fuentes had just turned twenty-nine a month ago but already had an incredibly long and successful track record of undercover operations that she'd carried out for the DEA in Miami. That track record had caught that attention of an FBI agent named Matthew Bilkins who'd been given the difficult task of apprehending a highly organized group of truck jackers.

An anonymous tip to the local police task force that had been working on the case suggested that Dominic Toretto, a mechanic with a conviction already on file, had gathered a team to commit a crime but they'd been unable to uncover any evidence. Two cops had been sent undercover with the street racers almost a week ago, but they hadn't been even close to good enough to get Toretto's attention. That was when Bilkins had contacted Monica's superior and normal handler for cases, David Markham. Markham had, after some intense negotiation and several serious conversations with Monica, agreed to allow her to go undercover for the truck hijacking case.

Monica made her way through the crowd towards the baggage carousel, deciding not to check her phone until she reached it. If she had to circle back and collect her escort from the local task force, she would. A text from Markham informed her that Agent Bilkins himself would meet her at the pick up area of LAX ten minutes from now as a buzzer began going off, signalling that the carousel was about to being moving. The dark haired woman waited patiently as pieces of luggage began to circle around, knowing that her own luggage was normally one of the last things to be unloaded. She texted Markham back, letting him know that she'd arrived safely and was waiting for her bag. Then she caught a glimpse of a red ribbon attached to the handle of a black bag. She smiled, tucked her phone away, and strode forward to grab her bag, waving off a middle aged man in khakis and a polo shirt who tried to help her. While Monica appreciated when doors were held open for her or someone helped her to reach an item off the top shelf at a grocery store, she also preferred to do what she could by herself. That preference had led to her developing a variety of skills which occasionally proved useful during her undercover missions.

Bag in hand, Monica made her way towards the pick up and drop off drive for the airport, following the signs to navigate her way through unfamiliar territory. While working with the DEA, she'd become an expert in finding her way through unfamiliar airports, even if she wasn't fluent in the language the signs were printed in. It was a useful skill to have, especially since she planned on traveling around the world once she retired from her current job. Monica stepped through the sliding doors and out into the hot, dry LA early summer, merging with the throngs of people hurrying to meet their loved ones so they could go home. Near the far end of the sidewalk, just barely parked under the awning that served as protection from the blinding sunlight, was a black man standing in front of a white sedan holding a makeshift cardboard sign with the last name _FUENTES_ printed on it in blocky, capital letters. Monica wove her way through the crowd and approached, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder as she went.

"Monica Fuentes?" the man asked, meeting her gaze.

"Agent Bilkins, I presume," she replied calmly and he smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Fuentes. Why don't you step in the car and I'll give you the details of your newest undercover job."

Monica nodded and placed her bag in the back seat before sliding into the passenger seat. Bilkins had already crossed around to take the driver's seat and he waited until she'd buckled her seatbelt before starting the car and pulling carefully out into traffic. "What did Markham tell you about the case?" Bilkins asked, getting straight to the point. Monica appreciated that. She'd been sitting on a plane for over five hours, and before that she'd been stuck inside Miami International Airport for two, so she had no more energy to put into shallow small talk.

"For the past month a highly organized crew has been stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from moving semi trucks in the dead of night. Due to the skill the driver's possess, at least according to the truckers, local police theorized that the criminals were either professional racers or street racers but the only lead they've been able to come up with is an anonymous tip suggested that Dominic Toretto, a local garage owner, is the one leading the gang," she said, summarize the contents of the very thin folder Markham had given her to look over on the plane. "Toretto has one conviction on file already, and served several years for almost killing a man named Kenny Linder, but that was several years ago and the people in the neighborhood seem to like him. They also haven't noticed any unusual behavior, so you sent a couple local cops undercover to try to get close to Toretto. Unfortunately, they weren't good enough street racers to even catch his attention, so you hit a dead end and called their operation off."

"That pretty much covers it," Bilkins replied. "How much do you know about cars?"

"Enough to change my own oil, but not much else," Monica admitted. She liked working with cars and had spent hours as a teenager with her dad in his garage, but other than knowing the names of random car parts, not much had stuck aside from the ability to change the oil in her own car.

"We can work with that," Bilkins told her. "You're going to be placed undercover as Monica Lopez in a parts shop called The Racer's Edge. It's owned by Harry Russo, who will cooperate with us in order to avoid going to prison for five years for selling stolen car parts. Toretto and his crew are known customers there, so hopefully the job will give you a chance to get close to them."

Monica absorbed the information before nodding once and turning her attention towards the most important question she needed answered at the moment. "When do I start?"

~~~

Mia was just rounding the corner when Dom shut the door behind him, concern clear on her face. "Is something wrong?" she asked, eyes scanning him quickly as she searched for bruises or blood.

"Nobody's hurt," he reassured his sister. "I just forgot to grab something for lunch before I headed to the garage this morning."

"You could have called," she told him, tone switching from concern to mild irritation in a instant. "I'll go make you a sandwich. Just stay there so you don't track mud and grease all over the house."

"I've been on the phone with Senora Garcia all morning, Mia," he told her, exasperated. "I haven't even had a chance to get into the garage to work on a car." Mia, who was already halfway to the kitchen, called back something that he couldn't quite catch. "What?" he asked, making his way after her.

"I asked if her Bug was acting up again," Mia repeated, back to him as she started putting together a sack lunch. Senora Garcia had a finicky old Volkswagen Beetle that occasionally decided it wasn't going to work and simply stopped running, sometimes in the middle of the road. The vehicle had been a source of frustration to both the elderly woman and to Dom, who had to spend time researching what could possibly be wrong with the car instead of researching his team's next hunt.

"This time it's her Oldsmobile," Dom said, referring to the car Senora Garcia kept on hand for those all too common occasions when the Volkswagen quit working. "She having trouble with it overheating."

Mia startled, obviously not having realized that he had followed her out to the kitchen, and then tensed. Dom frowned at his little sister's stiff back, trying to figure out what he might have done to upset her. He scanned the kitchen, as if it would give him answers, and then went still as he gaze fell on a plate with a scattering of crumbs on it and a half empty glass of water. Mia had been curled up on the couch, staring blearily at the television and eating Lucky Charms out of a bowl with her fingers for breakfast when Dom had left for work at ten after eight, and it was far too early in the day for her to be eating lunch. That meant someone else had been inside their house. Reminding himself firmly that Mia would be incredibly upset if he overreacted, Dom turned towards his sister and asked, "Who'd you invite over, Mia?"

If possible, his sister actually became more tense. "Nobody's been over since Letty last night," she replied, tone cold and one hand tapping nervously against the counter.

"Then did you decided to eat lunch early?" he asked, giving her the benefit of the doubt to avoid facing a Mia sized explosion if he made an accusation that wasn't true.

"Of course not, Dom. It's not even eleven yet and I haven't been up that long!"

"Then who's been in our house?" Mia went still for a moment. Then she turned slowly to face him, expression suspiciously blank.

"I don't want you to overreact." That told him everything he needed to know. Dom headed for the back door, knowing that a Shifter wouldn't be likely to stay inside the house with the arrival of another Hunter, and his sister scrambled after him. "Dom, _wait_! He was just a scared kid!"

"And Kenny Linder was just somebody's dad, but he still killed our father," Dom snapped back, picking up his pace as he headed for the fence.

"Dom, _please_ ," Mia's voice begged from behind him. "Don't do something stupid." Dom ignored her, leaning over the back of the fence and peering down in the lilacs below. He didn't see anything at first, but instinct insisted that he keep looking. A moment later, wide blue eyes blinked open and the Shifter gave a whole body flinch. Mia was right, Dom considered as he used the chair she'd left up against the back fence to gain enough height so he could grab the creature and pull him over into the yard, the Shifter was young. Younger than any that he'd seen up close before.

Dom turned and caught sight of his sister for the first time since he'd realized what she was done, phone starting to ring loudly at his hip. Mia's face was streaked with tears but her eyes were angry and her hands clenched into fists, a sure sign that Dom was going to have to fight her if he wanted to finish off the little problem was was trying to squirm out of his grip. "I don't have time for this right now," he growled through gritted teeth, knowing by the ringtone that Letty was the one calling him, likely because they had a customer that needed to speak to him about something or because his team had run into a problem on a car that required another set of hands to fix. Dom stalked past his sister, dragging the struggling and whimpering Shifter into the house and heading for the basement stairs that were attached to the kitchen.

"Dom, what are you doing?" Mia demanded, hurrying after him, but he ignored her, swinging opening the basement door and dragging the Shifter inside. "Dom? _Dom!_ Dominic Toretto answer me!"

Dom tossed the Shifter towards the back of the mostly empty basement and whirled around, stalking back out and slamming the door firmly shut. "The Shifter stays in there," he told his sister, tone sharp. "I'll deal with this problem when I get home."

"You can't just lock a little kid down there," Mia protested as Dom paused to lock the basement door, deciding to take the key with him so that his little sister wouldn't play the good Samaritan and let the little monster out while he was at the garage.

"I can and I will," Dom told her, brushing past her on his way up the stairs. "Besides, that thing's not even human."


End file.
